Written questions by Andrew.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Local Government Finance on 24 February 2025, HCWS461, whether her Department plans to take steps to prevent local authorities from disposing of community and heritage assets.

The government is clear that public ownership of locally significant assets should be protected to ensure residents can continue to benefit from them. In February, government set out an expectation to councils in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support that, where a council is considering funding this support through asset sales, they should avoid the disposal of community heritage assets where possible. It is for a local authority to ensure they satisfy this expectation in the context of their overall financial position.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system consultation, last updated on 27 February 2025, whether she plans to provide local authorities with powers to charge a fee for Listed Building Consent planning applications.

Planning fees in England are set by the Secretary of State. Local planning authorities cannot charge a fee for listed building consent applications.Under the government’s proposals for localised fee setting in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, government may continue to prescribe where a fee should not be charged for a particular type of application.The government intends to consult on the details of localised fee setting later this year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Written Statement of 30 July 2024 on Building the homes we need, HCWS48, how many of the new planning officers will have the expertise to handle historic and traditionally constructed buildings.

At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a £46 million package of investment to support capacity and capability in local planning authorities. We are working with delivery partners to understand how we can scale delivery and fund the recruitment and training of an additional 300 planners as part of that investment. This includes expansion of the Pathways to Planning programme which has had significant interest from prospective graduates wanting to take up roles in local planning authorities and train while they work. In relation to the specific skills needed in managing historic buildings, we are developing a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, including Historic England, to ensure that local planning authorities have the types of skills, both now and in the future. More details will be announced in due course. This will be further underpinned by increases in planning fees we are introducing in the coming months that will help improve the resourcing of planning services, so that LPAs can fund the skills they need.